Refrigerator



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Patented 001:. 1, 1895.

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PHILIP T. ELDER, OF DE WITT COUNTY, TEXAS.

REFRIGERAT'O SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,113,dated October 1, 18975.

Application tiled October 11, 1894.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILP T. ELDER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the county of De Witt (Gheapside P. 0.) and State of Texas,have invented a new and useful Refrigerator, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in refrigerators adapted to receivemeat and dairy and farm products; and the object in view is to providemeans for maintaining the interior thereof at a sufficiently lowtemperature to preserve such products by the use of a small quantity ofice or wholly by means of vaporization secured without the aid of ice.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in thefollowing description, and the novel features thereof will beparticularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigeratorconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a centralvertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a similar view taken at rightangles to Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

1 designates a casing of preferably rectangular cross-sectionalconstruction provided with a hinged top 2 and having foraminous sides 3and 4, preferably formed of wire-gauze. The casin g is provided at itsfront with hinged doors 5, and arranged within the casing is asupporting-frame 6, comprising vertical side standards connected byhorizontal shelf-supporting strips, said frame being of lesscrosssectional area than the casing, whereby its sides and back arespaced from the corresponding parts of the casing. This frame is coveredat its sides and back with absorbent fabric, the sheets 7 and 8 of whichextend from the top of the supporting-frame to the bottom of the casing,where they are secured by means of hooks 9 in a gutter 10, formed on thebottom of the casing, between the walls of the latter and thesupporting-frame. The lower edges of the sheets of fabric are deflectedor carried outwardly from the supporting-frame to engage with the hooks,which are Serial No. 525,619. (No model.)

located approximately at the center of said gutter 10, whereby moisturepassing down through the sheets is prevented from finding its way to thebottom of the casing within the frame. The bottom 11 of the casingslants from one front corner toward the diagonallyopposite rear cornerto drain the moisture accumulating in the gutter 10 toward theoutlet-pipe l12, located at the lowest point of the gutter. K

The top of the frame is closed by'a hori- Zontal imperforate sheet-metalplate 13, upon which is arranged a folded and absorbent teX- tilereservoir 11i, preferably consisting of a folded blanket or sheet offabric, adapted to accumulate moisture and communicate it to the sideand rear sheets 7 and 8, which depend from the top of the frame. Thevaporization of the moisture from the absorbentreservoir reduces thetemperature of the top or covering plate 18 in the same way that thevaporization from the surfaces of the side and rear sheets reduces thetemperature of the contiguous air and contents of the frame.

Removably fitted in the top of the casing beneath the hinged cover 2 isa distributing pan or receptacle 17, adapted to receive a small quantityof ice or water introduced by means of a supply-pipe 15 through the top2. If ice is placed in this distributing pan or receptacle, thetemperature of the interior of the casing is reduced by the meltingthereof, and the water which is the result of the melting operationpasses into and is absorbed by the Vabsorbentreservoir and isdistributed thereby to the sheets of absorbent fabric supported by theframe and still further reduces the temperature by Vaporization. .Inthis way the ice operates to lower the temperature of the interior ofthe casing and the contents thereof throughout its transition throughthe liquid to the vaporous state. Hence a small quantity of ice placedin the distributing pan or receptacle willhave a double cooling effectupon the contents of the refrigerator by absorbing a double quantity ofcaloric.

If it is impossible or inconvenient to supply the distributing pan orreceptacle with ice, water may be introduced thereinto and serve thepurpose above described of the water resulting from the melting of theice. The supply-pipe 15 is designed to introduce this watei', the samebeing provided with a stop-cock to regulate the iiow and being incommunilcation with a tank 16 or other suitable source. Theabsorbent-reservoir is coextensive with the imperforate covering-plate13, and the bottom of the distributing pan or receptacle is perforatedto allow the water to descend directly thereinto.

The interior of the frame is provided with shelves 18, arranged upon theshelf-supporting strips above mentioned; but other means of support maybe substituted for the shelves, to suit the kind of articles arranged inthe refrigerator.

From the above description it will be seen that the improvedrefrigerator is adapted to be supplied, for cooling purposes, witheither ice or water, and depends mainly upon the vaporization of aliquid to reduce the telnperature of the contents, but that a doubleeffect may be produced by the use of ice, which absorbs the heat firstin the course of melting and subsequently in the course of vaporization,whereby a small quantity of ice is adapted to perform the function of amuch larger quantity where only the melting of the ice is utilized as ameans of reducing the temperature. The distributing pan or receptaclemay be removed when necessary to rearrange or replace the absorbentreservoir or the sheets covering the sides and back of the frame.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit y andhaving open sides and back and closed at its tcp by a horizontalimperforate plate, a gutter arranged on the bottom of the casing aroundsaid frame and communicating with an outlet pipe, sheets of absorbentfabric arra-nged at the sides and back of the frame and extending fromthe top to the bottom thereof, the lower edges of said sheets beingdeiiected or inclined outwardly from the frame toward the center of saidgutter, an absorbent reservoir supported by the top plate of the frameand adapted to communicate moisture to the sheets at the sides and backof the frame, said absorbent reservoir being coextensive with the plate,a distributing pan or receptacle fitted in the top ofthe casingabovesaid absorbent reservoir and having a perforated bottom to communicatemoisture to the absorbent reservoir, said pan or receptacle beingadapted to contain ice, and means for supplying said pan or receptaclewith water, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP T. ELDER.

Vitnesses:

O. L. CRoUcH, G. P. BOX.

